Indicator board



2 Sheets-Shut 2 INVENTOR Eozzprich ATTORNEYS) w. R. INDICATOR BOARD Filej imay 24, 1926 j J Dec. 20, 1927.

Patented Dec. 20, 1927.

[UNITED \vmmLEnIon -Rn non-Peron,

or. mcnonoenvrmiu, OUISIANA;

INDIC TOR mass.

- K: a ncation mea may ai,

My invention relates 'toimprovements in indicator boards, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed. 1 1

An object of my invention is to' provide an indicator board especially adapted for dog or horse races in which novel means is provided for quickly changing-the numbers on the board to accord with the 'changes in the betting odds as they are received, without resorting to the old way of writing down the odds with piece of chalk on a blackboard and erasingvand adding new figures as changes are required.

A further object of my invention isflto provide a device of the type described which makes-use of indicating boards having re movable numbered cards for indicating as number of the dog or horse which is to race, and having openings disposed adjacent to the numbered cards, these openings receiv' inga portion of endless tapes, the tapes be+ ing preferably colored black and having white numbers thereon. i I

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type described which has novel means for actuating the tapes for bringing the desired numberonthe tapes into registration with the openings.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specificatiompand the novel features of the invention will;b-e particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device,

in the betting ring on a board written with s a'section along the line 44 of chalk. This board is about two hundred feet long, and it is therefore very difiicult Figure 2 is a section along the line 2 -2- 192s.f Serial No. 111,332..

for patrons to read the boar d, unless they are gathered right around the board. 2

Mymachine is preferably to be located across the track inabout the center of the grandstand, and is to have a telephone con:

nection' to the money room [whereby the prices'may be transmitted at once to the operator of the board; as soon as the odds are detern'iined. The boardsl and 3 show the finished odds on the; races, while the board 2shows the approximate odds. The boards 1 and?) further show the printed certificates dividend indicating'how much they payto the holders.

I will first describe the center board 2 and will then' describe the boards 1 and3. The

board 2 is clearly shown in Figures 1, 3, 4 .and 6. The device comprises a casing 4 having a frontsurface 2 representing the board 2 heretofore referredto; "The casing I is pivotallyinounted at; 5 upon supporting braces 6. I The casing is supported clearof the ground? and may be tilted into a 'horif z'ontal position during the race for permitting the spectators to view thehorsesfor dogs running on the trackr Figure G shows the interior construction of the casing. Itwill be noted from this figure that three number-indicating tapes 8, 9 and 10 are mounted for movement upon pulleys 11 and .12. It slimildbenoted that I threeof these tapes are provided for each horizontal line ofopenings inthe board 2. I have shown eight of such lines of openings in Figure 1, and there will therefore beeight rows of tapes, one row being disand '10 disposed in each row; The tape 8 registers with an opening 13, the tape 9 with an opening 14, and the tape 10 with an opening 15. Eachof these tapeshas numbers thereon, ranging from 0 to 9..

preferably white on a posed above the other and threat-apes 8, 9

17. The gear 16 is keyed at 18 to a shaft 19, i

the shaft being provided with a crank 20, see Figure 6. A turning .of the crank 20 will move the tape to bringthe desired number of the tape into registration with the opening. It will at once be apparent that this method of changing numbers can be done far more quickly than can the changing of a number on a blackboard where the old number must be first e'ased and then the new one written on the blackboard with chalk. I have found that the numbers can be changed on the board in twenty-one seconds. This is absolutely necessary in a dog race, because the race is run in twenty-four to twenty-six seconds. a

The boards 1 and 3 are similar in construction, and Iwill therefore describe the board 1. This device consists of a casing 21 having a front face, which I term the board 1. This face has a number of open ings 27 therein, and tapes 22,7similar to the tapes 8, 9 and 10, are disposed in back of each opening. These tapes are actuated by the same mechanisnras shown in Figure 3, and therefore further description of this mechanismis not necessary; In Figure 2, I show the crank handles as being staggered with respect to rob other; that is, certain of thecrank handlesarc disposed in front of the other crank handles, whereas in Figure (3, I show all of the crank handles as being disposed in the same line. The

reason for staggering the crank handles 20 in Figure 2 is to permit the more ready operation of the tapes.

The boards 1 and 3 have their front faces printed in identically the same way, except thatthe board 1 is a two-dollar board, while the board 3 is a five-dollar board. The words certificates dividend indicated at 23 are printed on each of the boards and directly below these words are printed the words Straight, Place and'Show indicated by the numbers 2 1, 25 and 26, respectively. The words .Straight, Place and Show are disposed above the openings 27; Alongside of the horizontal rows of openings, I dispose channels 28 for receiving numbered cards 29. i

The center board 2 is for the approximate odds, whereas the boardsl and 3 are for thefinished odds on the races. The board 2 therefore has the word Approximates indicated at 30 and the words Not official indicated at 31, printed thereon. Alon side of the openings 18, I dispose numbers indicated at 31, these numbers running from 1 to 8 inclusive. Alongside of the openings 15, I dispose channels 33 for receiving numbered cards 34. r

The tops of the casings t and 21 are covered by curved roofs 35 and 36, respectively, for protecting the front of the boards and the interior of the casings from rain, etc. In Figure 4, I clearly show how the roof 35 is provided with a protecting hood 36 for lights 37, the lights illuminating the front of the board 2. Lights 38 are mounted in the casings 21 for permitting the operator to quickly bring the desired number into registration with the opening.

I claim:

In a device of the type described, an endless tape having numbers printed thereon, an indicator boarddisposed in front of said tape and having an opening therein in registration with said tape, idler pulleys positioned above and below said opening, driven pulleys positioned to the rear of said idler pulleys, said tape being disposed upon said pulleys, a shaft, a drive gear rigidly mounted upon said shaft, gears rigidly carried by said driven pulleys and in mesh with said drive gear, and means for rotating said shaft and said drive gear for rotating said driven pulleys in like directions for moving said tape upon said idler pulleys and adjacent said openin NVENDLE RUIGHARD ROUPRICH. 

